Jar-closure clamp.



PATENTBD SEPT. 3, 1907.

J, KUNKEL. JAR GLOSURECLAMP. uPLmA'rIon FILED mun. 1907.

wi 11 Loses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

.TAR-CLOSURE CLAMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 3, 1907.

Application led July 1],190'7. Serial No. 383,274.

To allwhom it may concern: V

Be it known that I, .IOHN KUNKEL, a citizen oi: the United States,residing at Wellsburg, in the county of Brooke and State oi WestVirginia, have invented certain new and` useful Improvements in.Tar-Closure Clamps, oi which the following is a specification.

This invention contemplates certain new and useful improvements in jarclosure clamps of that type which embody a series of divergent arms thatare provided at their ends with hooks designed to extend down and overand around the bead at the mouth oi the jar or bottle to hold the diskor similar closure in place on said mouth.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved device of thischaracter which will equalize the pressure upon the closure to the bestpossible advantage, an d one which may be cheaply manufactured and whichwill be eilicient in operation as well as easy of ap plication andremoval. Y

For a full understanding oi the invention and the merits thereof andalso to acquire a knowledge oi' the details of construction and themeans lor effecting the results rei'erence is to be had to the followingdescripti onan d accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is aperspective View showing the application oi my invention in actual use.Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the upper portion et' a jar,my improved clamp being applied' thereto. Fig. 3 is a perspective viewillustrating a slight modilication.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescriptionand indicated in all the views 'of the drawings by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral l designates a jar which isprovided at its mouth with the usual rounded rim bead 2.

3 designates the closure which is in tlie form of a disk adapted to iitupon the mouth ot the jar, and 4 designatos a gasket or washer which maybe interposed between the disk and that portion oi the mouth in whichthe closure fits.

My improved clamp is composed oi spring metal or material and embodiestour divergent arms that emanate from a central portieri atsubstantially right angles to each other. In that iorm ofthe inventionillustrated in Fig. l, these arms, designated 5, are all provided attheir ends with downwardly and inwardly facing hooked extremities Gwhich are designed to extend down over and underneath the rim bead 2 soas to sesurely hold the device over the closure 3 and seal the mouth oithe jar.

As best illustrated in Fig. 2, the arms slope down wardly from theirhooked or outer ends towards their the center of the disk 3, thepressure being equalized in four different directions at right angles toeach other so as to distribute the pressure to the best possibleadvantage. One of the arms 5 is continued beyond 'its hook G in anoutward and upwardly curled direction, so as to produce a convenientfinger piece. It is particularly noted that the arms 5 divergesubstantially at right angles from each other, and that thediametrically opposite' arms, or those in alinement with each other, areapproximately equal to the outside diameter of the rim bead 2. Hence inthe practical application of the clamp to the mouth of the bottle, it isevident that the clamp may be slipped into place by a sliding movementuntil that hook which is opposite the finger piece 7 comes tightly intoengagement with `and against the rim bead, the other arm of thisdiametrically opposite pair sliding upon the upper face oi the disk 3 inthis movement, this sliding action being accommodated by the springcharacteristics oi the clamp. It will thus be seen that even before thehook (i, which is extended into the finger piece 7, shall have beenbrought into locking engagement with the rim bead, the other threeequidistant hooks are firmly engaged with the said rim bead and thattherefore to complete the locking operation, it is only necessary tograsp the finger piece 7 and snap its hook down over the rim bead. Thuswhen the device is in place, the pressure will be equalized upon allsides, and it will be impossible to accidentally snap the device iromthejar by striking it sidewise, which is a serious defect of that type otspring closure clamps known as the Y type.

In that form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3 the sameconstruction is disclosed except that one oi the divergent armsterminates short of the edge of the disk 3 and the rim bead, and is thusdevoid of any hook. This form of closure is applied, like the form shownin Fig. l by a sliding movement, the only difference being that the hookG which is extended to form the finger piece 7 takes the place oi thathook 6 in Fig. l, which is opposite the hook with the extension, andthat in Fig. 3, the hook with the extension brings up against the rimbead 2 in the sliding movement without any snapping action of theopposite arm designated 8, this latter merely serving to equalize thepressure of the four equidistant or diverging arms upon the disk 3, saidpressure being focalized at the center oi the said disk and emanatingfrom said center in four equidistant radial lines.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. Thecombination with a jar or the like, provided with a rim bead, and a diskclosure on said bead, of a clamp comprising four spring arms integrallyconnected together at their inner ends from which they diverge at rightangles to each other, all of said arms sloping towards the center of theclamp, one of said arms being provided at its outer end with adownwardly and inwardly facing hooked extremity and beyond the hook withan outwardly and upwardly curled finger piece, and the two adjacent armsbeing provided with downwardly and inwardly facing hooked extremitiesthat are adapted to t the said rim bead, the two said arms beingsubstantially of a length, combined, equal to the outside diameter ofthe rim bead, whereby the clamp may be slid laterally upon the rim beaduntil the three named hooks engage the sides of the same, theequidistant divergence of the arms and their sloping towards the center,serving to distribute the pressure of the clamp upon the disk and alsoserving,` to focalizc the pressure at the center of the latter.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a clamp for jar closures comprisingdivergent spring arms 5, having their outer ends downwardly and inwardlybent to form hooks, the hooks of one of the arms being upwardly bent toform a finger piece, an extension 8 projecting from the adjacent arms 5aforesaid, said extension terminating adjacent the peripheral portion ofthe closure, the inner end portions of the arms 5 and the extension 8being in a plane lower than the outer end portions.

In testimony whereof I attix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN KUNKEL. [L. s.] Witnesses Gao. W. RUSSELL, C. B. MAGEE.

